Living Legends: Who should be Livingstone's first inductees?

IT'S time to get your thinking caps on, Livingstone Shire, because a new "Living Legends” category is set to be introduced to next year's Australia Day celebrations.

The brainchild of deputy mayor Nigel Hutton, a condensed number of award categories in 2020 will see Living Legends complement Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, and Community Group/Service of the Year.

From next month, the community can start nominating people for Livingstone Shire's Australia Day awards, with the new format sure to create added interest.

"Aligning our awards more closely with the national model means that every person who's nominated, regardless of which field they've come from, will be recognised as being a leading citizen of our shire,” Cr Hutton said.

"Our intention is that the Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year will be people who have done something amazing in the last 12 months.

"But recognising those who continue to serve throughout their lifetime is where the Living Legends category comes in.”

"Whether someone's achievement is sporting, cultural, academic, or no matter what it is, they deserve to be recognised as one of our leading citizens.

"We may put our leaders in different categories and up onto podiums by themselves sometimes, but as Australians we actually like being united and standing side-by-side.

"This way, our achievers will all stand side-by-side on a podium and have their stories shared equally.”

Cr Hutton said there was no cap on the number of people who could be inducted into Living Legends next year and inductees would be chosen by a selection committee which is made up of both councillors and community representatives.

Australia Day awards nomination forms are available on the Livingstone Shire Council website or can be collected from the Shire's Community Centre or any of its libraries.

Nominations close on December 1 and Livingstone's 2020 Australia Day awards ceremony will be held at the Yeppoon Town Hall on Australia Day eve.